Daniel Abrams has a BFA from Brandeis University & an MFA from New York Studio School (2005). He has taught in Rome & Corciano Italy, for the Rome Art Program & has exhibited in NYC, Seattle & Vermont. His artist residencies include the Vermont Studio Center & Chautauqua Institution, NY. “Art is a response -he said- an extension of how I see and feel…“
Art, whatever it takes – RomeArtProgram has made interviews with people involved in art, living in Italy, the USA and the UK, to know their feelings during the emergency.
–> Daniel Abrams interview:
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RomeArtProgram: What is your definition of “Art” today?
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-> Daniel: Art is open. It is anything you would like it to be. It is language, you just have to make it purposeful.
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RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?
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-> Daniel: Art changes with the times – taking on the perspective, technology, social structure of the period and bringing it to life. Providing us a way of responding and interacting to our experiences.
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RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?
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-> Daniel: When I stopped physically getting into fights as a kid and was able to focus on something else. I was not able communicate my emotions. Painting provided the structure for the communication.
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RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?
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-> Daniel: Too many. Art is in everything – it just depends how you look at it. I think there are many “great figures” for different reasons. Most of the great figures in art are defined posthumously and the ones thought great during the time are left to the side in history.
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RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?
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-> Daniel: Yes. They never left. As with everything, they take different forms and models.
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RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?
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-> Daniel: Depends on the artist. The challenge is how to use it with a purpose and not as an escape.
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RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?
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-> Daniel: If art is the mirror of a person then it is reflecting everything – art is changing just as the period is changing. It is reflecting all of the colors, the light and darkness. It never does one or the other.
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RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?
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-> Daniel: Why does it matter, we do all at once. Nothing happens singularly. Everything happens in a multiplicity. The present is, at the same moment, the present, the past and the future. There is not a right path, there are just paths. Take one, see where it goes and if it becomes limiting, change it.
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RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?
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-> Daniel: One can learn as much as they want to. Schools and Academies are just tools, the student has to learn how to use them to gain what they feel the need. It is active not passive.
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RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?
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-> Daniel: The artist only has to be authentic to themselves. It is the personal response and communication which makes their art their’s. The world is open, use it at will.
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RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?
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-> Daniel: They position themselves as they position themselves. How does it matter – the artist has to produce, that is the only concern. How the Gallery or Museum position themselves is their choice and they live or die on it. It is my choice to be or not be affiliated with them. There are plenty of galleries or museums to choose from.
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RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”: which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?
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-> Daniel: If you know, I am curious too – I think both play a role. There is not one right answer. Figuration is gaining strength right now. But tomorrow it could be abstraction. Does it really matter past the creation.
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RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?
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-> Daniel: Focus on developing a practice. Just produce through everything. Everything else is temporary.
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RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?
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-> Daniel: A lofty goal for art! Yes, art is a lens for the present, and when as a viewer we interact with a piece it is changing the space/time. It is the butterfly who creates the tornado. It is not the butterfly who directly leads to the tornado – it could be the initial cause leading to the tornado in the right conditions. Art is the same way. It is the initial reaction that turns into that cascade….
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